Dudes in pickup trucks are deliberately blocking Tesla superchargers

I've written before with some disdain about truck owners "rolling coal," or deliberately belching out visible pollution as a form of public protest/rebellion/plea for attention.

Now we have another odd behavior from folks who seem to be driving oversized, inefficient vehicles as not just a right, but a responsibility of every red-blooded American. Electrek reports that pickup truck owners are taking over Tesla superchargers and yelling profanities at folks trying to use the stations.

Sadly, at least two of these incidents appear to have happened in my adopted home state of North Carolina in the town of Hickory—actually one of my stops on my outrageous attempt to spread my liberal, un-American views through a silly and inefficient road trip.

Now, exactly why these folks are deliberately targeting superchargers is unclear. As far as I can tell, there's no official protest movement. No specific demands. And no attempt to spin the effort or communicate with the media. To be clear, there are indeed legitimate reasons to be critical of Elon Musk and Tesla—and the promotion of electric cars as a panacea for what ails us. Maybe these good citizens are simply demanding bike lanes, not superchargers? Maybe they are standing in solidarity of workers unable to unionize? Or maybe not.

I suspect that this is a manifestation of the general feeling that electric cars only exist because of government welfare, while oversized pickup trucks and cheap gas are the product of 100% free markets and a complete lack of fossil fuel subsidies. Or it's an act of brave resistance against the bike lane-wielding tyrants of Agenda 21. Either that, or it's simply angry men confused at how the world is moving on and looking for a target for their anger.

Of course, environmentalists aren't strangers to illegally blockading a specific and legal activity. From stopping coal ships to detaining palm oil tankers, activists regularly break the law and risk imprisonment in order to draw attention to life-threatening pollution and environmental exploitation. Here's some advice for free to the pickup truck bros, though: If you're going to put your liberty at risk like this for your "cause," you might want to have a communications plan in place first.